Kommentar zu Dewarim 6:20

כי ישאלך בנך מחר WHEN THY SON ASKETH THEE — There is a usage of the word מחר that refers to a day that only comes after the lapse of some time (and this is so here, i.e. it here means “in time to come", not "to-morrow”) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:14).

WHEN THY SON ASKETH THEE IN TIME TO COME, SAYING: ‘WHAT MEAN THE TESTIMONIES, AND THE STATUTES, AND THE ORDINANCES etc.?’ The meaning thereof is that first he will ask, “These commandments called testimonies — to what do they testify?” For they are a memorial to His wonders³²⁰See Psalms 111:4. and witnesses thereof, such as the Unleavened Bread, the Booth, the Passover, the Sabbath, the phylacteries, and the Mezuzah. [Then he will ask] “What are the statutes?,” for their reasons are hidden in the Torah. Of the ordinances he will inquire: “What are the ordinances that we enforce in these commandments — stoning him who does work on the Sabbath, burning him who has intercourse with a woman and her mother, and administering forty lashes to him who sows mixed seeds?” For the ordinances pertaining to the social order of countries — such as the laws of the ox, the pit, the guardians, and the rest of the laws of the Torah — are righteous and good, all that see them acknowledge them,³²¹Isaiah 61:9. [and of these they do not ask]. Now concerning the answer to this question, he commanded that we relate to the inquirer the whole subject of the exodus from Egypt,³²²Verses 21-23. the intent thereof being as He stated in the Ten Commandments, Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt,³²³Above, 5:6. directing us that we inform the inquiring son that the Eternal is the Creator [through Whom everything has come into existence] by His will and power, as has been made clear to us by the exodus from Egypt. This is the sense of the expression [And the Eternal showed signs …] ‘before our eyes,’³²⁴Verse 22. for it is we who know and are witnesses of the signs and wonders, for we saw there that the Eternal is our G-d, He is the G-d in heaven above and upon the earth beneath, and there is none else.³²⁵Above, 4:39. All this was made known through the departure from Egypt, as I have explained in the first commandment.³²⁶Exodus 20:2. Vol. II, pp. 285-286. Thus it befits us to give honor to His Name, for He is our Creator, and [He] has magnified His mercy upon us, and He commanded us to do all these statutes³²⁷Verse 24. mentioned in the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances [about which the son had asked]: to fear Him³²⁷Verse 24. by performing [commandments known as] the testimonies which are a memorial to His wonders;³²⁰See Psalms 111:4. for our good³²⁷Verse 24. through performance of [commandments known as] the statutes for they are good, there being no statute which contains any evil, although their reasons have not been clarified to all people;³²⁸But to the Sages of Israel the reasons of the statutes were revealed. See Ramban further, 22:6. that He might preserve us alive³²⁷Verse 24. through [the commandments called] the ordinances. For we shall live by all [three kinds of commandments] together as they are all good, containing nothing harmful at all, but instead they all ultimately result in good life. Thus we are obliged to do the will of the Creator Who is our G-d, and we are His people, and the flock of His hand,³²⁹Psalms 95:7. and there is nothing but good in all of His commandments. And what is more, it shall be accounted virtue unto us before the Eternal our G-d³³⁰Verse 25. and He will give us good reward for observing all these commandments. The verse refers to the reward for the observance of the commandments as “righteousness” [in the sense of charity] for the bondsman who was bought by his master is obliged to serve him [and has no claim to payment for his service]. If the master gives him payment for his service, he does an act of righteousness with him.

מה העדות, a reference to the philosophical, theological aspects of the Torah. These invariably relate to the supernatural matters described in the Torah.

כי ישאלך בנך מחר מה העדות, וגו', “When your child asks you tomorrow (figuratively speaking)” The first category of questions by children who observe our rituals are questions concerning symbols commemorating historic events, i.e. עדות. Subsequently, questions will concern laws that appear not to be rooted either in our history or logic, חקים. Lastly, the child will question משפטים, penalties exacted for violating the Sabbath, by being stoned to death, for instance, or why someone sleeping with a woman and her mother should be subject to the death penalty by burning, etc. etc. The child will not ask his father concerning a whole range of laws that make sense to him, laws that are effective in fighting crime, etc. Moses tells the father that in the first instance he has to inform his child about the Exodus from Egypt and what had preceded it. This answer, basically is the introduction to the Ten Commandments in which Hashem introduces Himself as the One Who liberated the people of Israel from bondage under terrible conditions, something that surely entitles Him to expect something from us in return when He requests this. Having demonstrated His power to us at the time and having exerted Himself on our behalf is all that is needed to justify His legislating a lifestyle for us.

כי ישאלך בנך מחר לאמור מה העדות והחקים והמשפטים, “when your son will ask you tomorrow (in the future): ‘what is the purpose of the ceremonial laws, the statutes, and (even) the social laws?’” Your children who have not been part of the historic process of becoming a Jewish nation, will ask: “why do you observe all these many types of laws?” You are to tell them that it all dates back to the time when we were slaves, oppressed, and the Lord liberated us from all this. As a result, we are obligated to accept His dictates in lieu of those of Pharaoh. Moses sums up the commandments as the Torah being a repository of our history and that observing it will keep the historic connection between the founding fathers and subsequent generations alive (compare Ibn Ezra and Nachmanides).

V. 20. כי ישאלך וגו׳. Der vorangehende Absatz VV. 16-19 erinnerte uns, nicht fortgesetzte נסים von Gott zu fordern, um immer aufs neue unsere Überzeugung von der Gegenwart seiner Waltung in unserer Mitte zu befestigen, sondern auf Grund der unsere nationale Entstehungsgeschichte erfüllenden נסים dieser Gegenwart für immer gewiss zu sein und deren Bekundung nur infolge unserer pflichttreuen Hingebung an das, was in Gottes Augen das Rechte und Gute ist, zu erwarten. Eng schließt sich diesem Gedankeninhalte der hier folgende Schlussabsatz (Verse 20-25) an, der eben die Vererbung des Bewusstseins dieser Gott bezeugenden נסים unserer Entstehungsgeschichte als Basis der ganzen Erziehung unserer Jugend für Gottes Gesetz ans Herz legt, und eben durch diese Vererbung unserer geschichtlichen Erfahrungen eine stete Wiederholung solcher die gewöhnliche Naturordnung aufhebenden נסים für alle Folgezeit überflüssig macht.

כי ישאלך בנך מחר, “when your son will ask you tomorrow (in the future), etc.” The question posed here is that attributed to the wise son (one of the four) during the recital of the haggadah on the night of the seder. Although this son addresses his parents with the word אתכם, which is almost the same as לכם, when he describes them as having been commanded to observe this commandment, i.e. he excludes himself just as the wicked son does, the fact that he adds that it is אשר צוה ה' אלוקנו, “which the Lord our G–d commanded, means that he does not exclude himself from the people assembled to observe the Passover. He had, after all not been redeemed from Egypt, seeing that he had not yet been alive, as had his parents.

והחקים והמשפטים, the practical laws,

מחר: wenn diese Zeit vergangen und eine andere Zeit an ihre Stelle getreten ist, in welcher das jetzt Erlebte der geschichtlichen Vergangenheit angehört (vergl. מחיר, der Tauschwert). ׳מה העדת וגו. Die auf diese Frage folgende Antwort enthält nicht den Inhalt der Gesetze, sondern die Mitteilung unseres nationalgeschichtlichen Ursprungs samt den dabei erfahrenen, Gott bezeugenden נסים und Gesetzoffenbarungen als Verpflichtungsgrund zu dem Gesetze. Entweder ist daher ׳מה העדות וגו in der Tat die Frage nach dem Inhalte des Gesetzes, und die Antwort lehrte dann, dass jeder Tradierung des Gesetzesinhalts die Tradierung des auf geschichtlicher Erfahrungstatsache beruhenden Verpflichtungsgrundes vorangehen müsse, damit nach dem Grundsatze יראתו קודמת לחכמתו (Abot I. 3, 9) und dem alten jüdischen Fahneneid נעשה ונשמע, das Erlernen des Gesetzes von vornherein von dem Zwecke der Erfüllung geleitet werde; oder מה העדת ׳וגו ist eben nicht Frage nach dem Inhalte, sondern Frage nach dem Verpflichtungsgrunde des Gesetzes, wie מה חרי האף הגדול הזה (Kap. 29, 23) die Frage nach dem Grunde des auf dem Lande ruhenden Zornes ist. Es wäre sodann dem späteren Geschlechte das Eigenartige der symbolische Handlungen, Sittengesetze und sozialen Ordnungen zum Bewusstsein gekommen, in welchen das jüdische Volk sich von anderen Völkern unterscheidet, und es erbäte sich Belehrung über den Grund dieser eigenartigen Normierung des jüdischen Lebens.

אשר צוה ה׳ אלוקינו אתכם, “which the Lord our G-d commanded you.” When the Torah spoke of the questions raised by the intelligent son (according to the author of the Haggadah shel Pessach who identifies him by quoting our verse), he does so seeing that this son has understood that not all the 613 commandments belong to the same category, but he has subdivided them into the three categories: ,עדות חוקים, משפטים. When it appears at first glance as if he excludes himself, because he described the laws as being addressed to אתכם “to you,” as if he were to exclude himself, he hastens to say אלוקינו “our G-d,” to prevent anyone thinking that he excludes himself. Since he is a member of the second generation and had not personally heard the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, he in fact is to be commended for including himself, as he could have argued that he had not said נעשה ונשמע, “we will perform the laws as soon as we know what they are.” (Exodus 24.7) This is in stark contrast to the “wicked son” in Exodus 12,26, who characterizes the laws as applying only “to you,” thereby excluding himself.

אשר צוה ה' אלוקינו אתכם, and He did not deem the seven Noachide laws as adequate.